Online companies such as Ryde Shopper and Cars Direct use current market values such as Kelley Blue Book and Black Book to figure the value of cars. You can visit these websites, find their trade-in or used car sections, enter your trades information, and get a good idea of what your vehicle is worth.
You can also call around to several local dealerships and ask to speak with the used car manager. Describe your vehicle to him and ask what he believes the value of your car would be. It may be tough to get answers because managers don’t like to give sight unseen appraisals and may tell you that you have to come to the dealership if you want an appraisal. If you’re trading in a Chevy, you may want to call a Chevrolet dealer to get the best bids. Trading a Ford, call a Ford dealer, and so on.
Get a minimum of three or four bids, average them out, and it will give you an idea of what your vehicle is worth.
Contrary to popular belief, after making a car ready for sale, most car dealers only mark up their cars somewhere between $1,000 to $2,500 over wholesale value. There’s not a huge 300% mark-up like in other retail industries.
With that in mind, you can go to the used car sections of sites like Ryde Shopper and Cars Direct to search for your current car. Whatever the list price is, discount the car about $2,500, and that will be a pretty good estimate on your vehicle’s value BEFORE any reconditioning or repair costs.
There are several conditions other than the actual vehicle that may affect a trade-in’s value such as the vehicle’s popularity, quality, history, and the overall used car market.
In conclusion, the best way to determine the value of your trade is to get several opinions of the vehicle you’re wanting to trade. Gathering different appraisals online and offline will give you a good idea of what your vehicle is truly worth.